The start of every academic cycle is met with a buzz of excitement, joy, and air of new beginnings. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai welcomes each new class with community-building activities and preparation for the White Coat Ceremony—a milestone for medical students, as they receive their first white coats and introduction to their academic careers.
In the healthcare industry, the white coat is a symbol, synonymous with responsibility, quality care, and even privilege. But that's just half of the story. We wanted to let the students do the talking, by sharing more about their journeys to medicine, their hopes for the future of healthcare, and what the white coat personally means to them.
"What the White Coat Means to Me" was a one-day video production, filmed in six different locations on- and around-campus with a tight turn-around time: we had two weeks to send out a call for participants, and plan a one-day video shoot. After selecting the medical students based on their responses to our preliminary screening and survey questions, we began storyboarding the concept, including the transitions, putting the script together in collaboration with the students (noting our running time allowance), and deciding on the final set locations to film.
Though we dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s, all the preparation in the world didn’t prepare us for racing against unforecasted inclement weather and a sound issue while on-set. We worked through the challenges by flexibly adapting to the conditions and scheduling another day to reshoot the last scene of the video.
Most of the content produced for the School has been for marketing campaigns and social media. This time, “What the White Coat Means to Me” debuted in front of an audience of over 1,000 people made of faculty, staff, students, and their guests. Seeing our work on a larger screen, in front of an audience, and hearing the thunderous applause and friendly shout outs throughout the entire live viewing was an unforgettable experience.
After its’ debut, we posted the video on our Mount Sinai Today blog and the School’s website for event recap content. In addition, the video was posted on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn receiving over 9,500 impressions and 832 video views in total. The video has also become part of our email marketing strategy, sent to over 7,500 school applicants in support of admissions and recruitment efforts, as well as alumni news.
